


A Lifelong Friend

by ushijimasbrow (myheroesrbands)



Series: A Family of Five (and one estranged dude) [1]
Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Elementary School, Gen, childhood best friends, introduction to skating, kaoru is so damn tired of kojiro, simply fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:36:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29917707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myheroesrbands/pseuds/ushijimasbrow
Summary: If Kaoru could describe the first time he met Kojirō, he'd remember every single detail. From the moment he got frustrated at his toy to the second Kojirō hit him in the face.
Relationships: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe & Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Series: A Family of Five (and one estranged dude) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2200038
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	A Lifelong Friend

**Author's Note:**

> In case it's not clear. Kaoru is older than Kojirō by four months (canon). The last scene is when they're both thirteen!

They’d bumped into each other on accident. Kaoru had been walking down the sidewalk, not paying attention to anything other than the toy in his arm, and Kojirō had been moving freely, his hands and face fluid as they laughed with the wind and sun beaming down on him. 

Suddenly, Kojirō’s hand knocked into Kaoru’s toy, the toy fell, Kojirō — still not paying attention — continued forward until he’d swung a hand up to Kaoru’s face, knocking the other boys glasses away, and then the two of them were landing on the hard sidewalk. 

It was quiet for all of five seconds before a seven-year-old Kaoru stood, grabbed his toy and glasses, kicked the other boy in the shin, and huffed before walking away. His pink hair, barely passing his shoulder, flowed behind him as he stomped out of Kojirō’s sight. 

“Wai-” came the call from Kojirō, who groaned at the pain in his shin.  _ He’s so mean?  _ He thought to himself as he slowly stood. The other kid kept walking, his stature showing clear anger. At what, Kojirō didn’t know. 

He called out, voice as high-pitched as ever, “Hey! That was mean!” The pink-haired kid paused and made to turn around before it seemed as though he thought better of the action. He stood, back ramrod straight, and walked away as if nothing had happened. 

Kojirō gaped in response. 

If it were anybody else, he’d have run up to them and shoved them away, demanding to know why they’d thought it was a good idea to hit him when he’d done nothing to deserve it.  _ Well maybe knocking him over  _ could  _ lead to that but why’d he have to just walk away like that.  _

A pout formed on Kojirō’s face as he turned and continue his walk down the sidewalk, a slight limp in his step as he made his way home where his mother would care for his wound. 

Kaoru on the other hand, well… his face was pink with anger as he walked away from the other boy. There’d really been no reason to kick him that hard but Kaoru hadn’t been having the best day and his stupid fucking toy wasn’t doing what he wanted it to do so he was already frustrated. Combine that with almost injuring his back and his smashed glasses, and he really wanted nothing more than to hole up in his room and cry. As he made his way to the park where he’d been sure his friend was supposed to meet him, he realized there were tears streaming down his face. 

Now angry at his inability to calm down, Kaoru took a minute to wipe his tears and focus on his toy. Ten minutes passed before he actually set foot in the park and was able to look up without tears blocking his vision. 

His friend was nowhere in sight. 

A huff escaped him, and he turned to leave and make his way home. There was no way he was going to wait for someone that apparently didn’t want to hang out with him.  _ Why did no one want to hang out with him? Why was he an outcast from his community center? Was it his hair? Did he not smile enough?  _ What  _ pushed his so-called friends away? _

He cried all the way back to his house. 

***

The following week, after entirely too much begging on Kaoru’s behalf, he managed to convince his parents to let him attend the middle school near their home. His mother had many objections — all of which included something about being home-schooled as the best decision for a “boy like him”. His father on the other hand insisted that maybe Kaoru needed to get to school to actually meet people and open up more. 

In the end, his father won out. 

That was how he found himself sitting in the backseat of his mother’s car as they patiently waited for him to make the first move and leave the vehicle. He was staring out of the window, watching the kids move into the building, watching others meet up with their friends, and watching as kids left their parents to meet with teachers. 

He wasn’t sure if  _ his  _ departure from his mother would be as heartfelt, but he did feel a twinge of sadness at being away from his mother for an entire day. 

“Go Kaoru. Have a good day,” his mother gritted out from the front seat, and Kaoru’s eyes widened a minuscule bit before he quickly grabbed his bag and made his way out of the car and into the building. He wasn’t sure what to expect from the first day but seeing _him_ in his class definitely was not at the top of his list. 

Sakurayashiki Kaoru was seven years old and had known Nanjo Kojirō for all of five seconds before he wanted to shove the other boy’s head into a plate of sand. 

“Shut up,” he growled out when the green-haired boy, who decided that it would be in his best interest to sit next to him during lunch, had begun telling a story about his older sister and how she had thought it would be nice to prank their parents. Kaoru  _ definitely  _ wasn’t listening, and he  _ really  _ wanted nothing to do with this boy who wouldn’t leave him alone. 

And yet,  _ the boy still wouldn’t leave him alone.  _

There was a pause before another word was spoken between the two. Kaoru had resorted to focusing his attention back on his bento and the homework he was determined to finish before they went back to class, so he could focus on something else that night. 

“No. So…” 

Kaoru looked to his side at the boy that wouldn’t  _ shut up.  _ He grabbed his bento and moved away from him. 

Maybe that would convince him that Kaoru  _ wasn’t trying to be friends with him.  _

***

“He won’t leave me alone,” Kaoru whined and pulled his best pleading eyes on his parents. He noted the skepticism in his mother’s face and wanted nothing more than to scream at her to  _ actually listen to him for once  _ but refrained for fear that he’d ruin the chance of getting out of changing schools. 

Maybe even changing cities. 

For days, Nanjo would magically appear at Kaoru’s side as if he’d been summoned by some invincible force. Kaoru wanted to end whatever  _ connection  _ the other boy perceived to have with him and the best way to do that was to convince his parents that this had been a terrible idea all along — sending him to actual school instead of continuing his at-home education. 

He was doing good, so academics would have been no problem. 

He just desperately needed to get rid of his Nanjo problem. 

“No,” his father’s deep voice boomed and his mother looked up in surprise at the response. “You convinced us that you wanted to be there. Now you have to deal with it.” 

Kaoru pouted before realizing the effort would be useless and instead went to his room to do his homework. He reasoned now, two weeks into the school year, that it was time he takes advantage of the services at his disposal to start actively avoiding Nanjo. 

After he finished his homework, Kaoru found the pamphlet with the school layout on it that he had snagged from his teacher’s desk days before and began devising a plan to  _ finally  _ find some peace. 

His plan worked. 

For a week. 

Then  _ Nanjo  _ somehow miraculously found him at every corner. Kaoru was about to pull his hair out until he realized that Nanjo was simply… sitting now. He wasn’t speaking, he was simply stuffing his face with the contents of his bento while staring into space. 

Kaoru thought it was strange — not hearing the other boy’s raucous voice — but just as soon as he came to that conclusion, it was time for them to be heading back to class. 

Maybe sitting with Nanjo wouldn’t be so bad. 

For three months Nanjo sat next to Kaoru during their lunchtime. He found a way to tone himself down, so he wasn’t  _ unbearable  _ when he was telling stories about his home while simultaneously spending several days sitting in silence, allowing the sounds of the day and other students to encompass him. 

“Why do you keep coming back here?” Kaoru found himself asking one day. He had turned 8 years old a few days before and as his parents were planning his birthday party, he realized he didn’t have any friends from school he’d wanted to invite. 

Nanjo turned his head to the side, curiosity covering his features before he responded, “Because we’re friends obviously.”

A smile crossed Nanjo’s face and Kaoru was able to make out the semblance of a dimple. Kaoru was confused. He and Nanjo were…  _ friends?  _ But don’t friends do things like hanging out? Watching movies? Have weird sleepovers?

That was probably the weird American perception of friendship he saw too often in the movies his father liked to watch on Friday nights. 

“Shut up,” was his grumbled response. His eyes widened slightly at the laugh that bubbled from Nanjo’s chest. 

“Nice speaking with ya.  _ Friend,”  _ he punctuated with another smile that Kaoru diligently looked away from. Everything about Nanjo was so  _ bright.  _ He was like the embodiment of the sun from the shine of his smile to the lights in his eyes.

Wait. No. 

Kaoru grumbled something incoherent even to himself and grabbed his now-empty bento box to toss in the trash. 

“Leave me alone.”

***

Seriously, Kojirō should have left him alone that day. Or else Kaoru wouldn’t have to deal with this unnecessarily embarrassing moment when his parents met Kojirō. 

It’d been two years since they first met and Kaoru’s parents had  _ finally  _ had enough of him saying he was going off with a friend. They wanted to know just who this friend was and what he managed to convince Kaoru into doing. 

As far as ten-year-old Kaoru was concerned, it was none of their business. 

“Sakurayashiki-san,” the green-haired boy greeted Kaoru’s parents with a particularly out of character well-mannered bow. Kaoru hid his shock well and instead scoffed at the notion that Kojirō knew  _ anything  _ about being polite. 

“Nanjo-kun!” His mother excitedly yelled. At this, Kaoru visibly reacted with a roll of his eyes. Kojirō was truly nothing special.

The night ended up going as well as could be expected when  _ Nanjo Kojirō  _ was involved. They’d only known each other for two years and yet Kaoru truthfully felt like he’d gladly move to anywhere else in Japan if it meant he’d be free of Kojirō. 

Truthfully. 

Maybe not so truthfully. 

_ Ugh.  _ He groaned and sighed before he allowed himself to drift into unconsciousness. He’d been in bed for hours before actually letting himself get to sleep — not a new occurrence. 

What  _ was  _ new was Kojirō asking him if he would go with him to the new park that opened a few blocks away from their school the next day.

Kaoru figured the park would be just like every other park they’d been to. Filled with swing sets and slides and things only Kojirō decided to indulge himself in whenever they would visit. 

What he was  _ not  _ expecting was the lack of all the above. There were ramps all over and kids were… skating on them? There were so many kids, all older than he and Kojirō, and yet Kaoru was fascinated with every single one. 

The park was characteristically small for skateboarding but the 10 or so kids already there were able to move with ease around each other — none of them so much as bumping into another skater. 

Kaoru stared in awe as one of the skaters floated in the air, rotating at a 180-degree angle to land, albeit shakily, on the next ramp, and then move forward to do it again. 

“Woah,” he said softly.

“Cool right?” Kojirō said from beside him and then Kaoru was reminded who he was with. A punch to his left and a grunt from Kojirō left Kaoru feeling satisfied enough to find a nearby bench and watch the skaters in their zone. 

Before he could process the green-haired  _ idiot  _ standing in front of him again, Kojirō was yelling, “Look what I can do Kaoru!” Kaoru dutifully looked  _ away  _ from his friend and kept his eye on the same skater he’d spotted earlier who was now doing a far more complicated jump that was definitely a risk. 

Kaoru’s heart flew to his throat as he watched the man shake dangerously before he was able to minimally stabilize himself and then fall unceremoniously to the ground. It looked like it hurt. But the guy had a smile on his face.

“Kaoru look!” Kaoru’s attention was finally pulled back to the lump of meat that he called a friend who smiled at finally being shown the attention he felt he deserved. Kojirō had somehow acquired a skateboard, or had he had it the entire time? Kaoru couldn’t remember. The board in Kojirō’s hand was brown and filled with scrapes. It was clearly smaller than the ones used by the skaters that were in the park — probably due to Kojirō’s smaller size. 

His look of disinterest must have gotten through to Kojirō who’s smile faltered, and he huffed before pushing off on his board. His hands were held out, and he was watching his feet with intense concentration, tongue sticking out of his mouth. Then, as quickly as Kaoru had seen it, Kojirō had managed to flip the board between his legs. 

“Cool right?” The smile was back. 

“No,” Kaoru deadpanned before standing and moving so that Kojirō was no longer in his line of vision, and he could continue watching the park.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there watching those older kids move around the ramps, but before he knew it, it was just him and Kojirō sitting in the park. 

Kaoru had gotten over his initial awe a while ago but as he sat next to Kojirō who was grinning madly, he realized he wanted to do exactly what those skaters were doing. 

In a rare show of every emotion he was feeling, Kaoru smiled and laughed. “I want to try that!” He yelled and looked at Kojirō who was looking at him with a smile and eyes slightly wide. 

“Well, first we gotta get you a board,” Kojirō said, feigning sophistication as he pulled a hand up to his chin and Kaoru slapped his shoulder and the two of them fell into a laughing fit. 

Before he knew it, he and Kojirō were staying late at the skate park to practice their boarding every day. They would arrive after school and stay well into the evening, worrying their parents sick. 

A smirk was covering Kojirō’s face as he finally successfully managed his first ollie. Kaoru, incapable of disguising his awe at his friends achievement, smiled brightly and raised his hand for a fist bump. 

“I’m gonna beat you,” he spoke, breathless as Kojirō’s shock showed on his face. The other boy raised a fist of his own and clamped it against Kaoru’s. 

“In your dreams geek.” 

***

The next year saw the two of them applying to some of the same middle schools in their prefecture. Kojirō clearly couldn’t live without Kaoru (and Kaoru teased him  _ relentlessly  _ for it) so he decided he’d attend the same school as him. 

But the next year also saw Kojirō actually joining another sport. 

“Tennis?” Kaoru had asked incredulously when Kojirō announced that he would no longer be able to accompany him to the skate park where they typically spent their nights. 

“Yeah!” Kojirō looked like someone had gifted him the sun for his birthday. “It’ll help me build some muscle.” He lifted one of his arms to flex his biceps and Kaoru scoffed before pushing his glasses up on his face. 

“As if,” he responded and barely registered Kojirō’s response of, “Hey!” 

It was strange, Kaoru found. Spending time away from Kojirō who had been a constant force in his life for almost four years. As they spent less time skating together (and more time  _ studying  _ together because if Kojirō didn't keep his grades up there was just no way he’d be allowed to stay on the team), Kaoru realized that… he  _ missed  _ being around Kojirō and doing what they both loved and shared their love for with each other. 

He didn’t have that much time to dwell on that fact because in another month, he and Kojirō would be graduating. Finally, heading to middle school where an entirely different set of challenges awaited them 

“Are you going to keep playing tennis?” Kaoru asked one night. Kojirō had gotten permission to sleep at Kaoru’s house and was sleeping on a futon next to Kaoru’s own. 

They had been lying in silence for about ten minutes. Having done their homework which now sat neatly (in Kaoru’s case) and messily (Kojirō) on Kaoru’s desk, they settled on peace for once. Neither of them wanting to speak about the changes that were fast approaching until Kaoru spoke up. 

“Hm? Nah,” Kojirō started. His eyes were glued to the ceiling of Kaoru’s room. “Might get back into skating.”

Kaoru couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat at that. More time skating with Kojirō? Well he couldn’t pass up on his favorite rival. The older kids at the old park by their school were getting better every day, already ahead of Kaoru and Kojirō, so there was really no one on his level to compete with and skate against. 

Silence enveloped the room once more as the night drifted on around them. Soon, Kojirō’s light breathing could be heard from beside Kaoru who turned toward the other teen. 

“You should keep doing it,” he whispered. 

“Hm?” was Kojirō’s sleep-induced response. 

“You’re really good at tennis,” Kaoru spoke despite himself. He’d been to several of Kojirō’s matches and watched Kojirō’s clear dedication to this sport. “Plus it’ll help you get girls,” he grumbled out before he knew it. 

He spotted a smirk from Kojirō and left the conversation at that. 

_ What the hell was he doing? _

**Author's Note:**

> Hi ;) ! My very first Sk8 The Infinity Fic! This will be part of a larger sk8fam series that will feature everyone (unfortunately yes Adam will be there). This will include too much matchablossom for my poor heart and renga will have their time to shine. I hope you all stick around! And you can find me on twitter [here!](https://twitter.com/ushijimasbrow) I hope you all enjoyed this! Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


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